Surprises
by Taryn Q
Summary: Annabeth hated being spontaneous and doing things without a plan, but perhaps being spontaneous wasn't all that bad.


_A/N: So this is my first fic and a horribly cliche one at that! I've been contemplating writing a Percabeth fic for ages but put it off until now. I never really intended to post, but then I wrote this and thought, perhaps, I might as well. I know this sort of fic has been done countless times (and mine is likely far from the best as this fic is rather pointless and my writing isn't the greatest) but I couldn't resist! XD _

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything._

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**Surprises**

Annabeth was excited. The school year had come to an end and she could finally spend her summer at Camp. It wasn't that she hated her school; being in New York was pretty exciting and being close to Percy was an added bonus. She had enough friends and acquaintances to be content and, as expected, she was passing her classes with flying colors. All in all, she liked her boarding school, but infinitely preferred to be spending time at Camp Half-Blood with her demigod friends. So, needless to say, she was quite excited when the school bell rang for the very last time.

Normally, Annabeth never hurried to rush out. She left that to the other students and waited patiently until they stopped tripping over each other in their haste to leave, before she made any attempt at journeying out. But today, however, she hurriedly stuffed her belongings into her bag and was the first one out of her class. The other students stared at her empty seat in shock. Annabeth Chase never hurried to leave, so naturally, the entire student body wondered just what warranted Annabeth leaving in such a rush.

Of course, Annabeth hadn't told a single soul about Camp Half-Blood. Even her closest friends at school only knew that she spent her summers away. To the students of the boarding school, Annabeth Chase had always been something of an enigma. She never spoke about herself unless asked and even then, barely revealed anything. The only thing anyone knew for certain was that Annabeth's family lived in San Francisco and that Annabeth liked to draw. She was always spotted with a pencil in her hand and a sketchbook beside her. What her sketchbook contained remained a mystery, even to her friends, who'd never really bothered finding out. If they ever found out it contained architectural sketches, Annabeth was sure they'd be severely disappointed because it would hardly fuel their gossip.

There wasn't much gossip at the school that Annabeth cared to listen to. Her friends regaled her with the details, but more often than not, she just tuned them out. It was increasingly difficult to listen to which boy decided to ask out which girl and how the well-known students spent their day, who they tormented or befriended, and such. Even worse were the rumors her friends told her about herself. The daughter of Athena was slightly amused to discover there were rumors circulating about her at all, but she soon realized they weren't very good ones. There was one about how she was an orphan and living in the City under some foster care program, which people seemed to think explained her mysteriousness. There was another that claimed she was a juvenile delinquent and she kept to herself because she didn't want people to know of her past. Unless juvenile delinquency meant she'd helped save the world, Annabeth doubted it applied. There was even one rumor that Annabeth's mother was a famous model from Hollywood and Annabeth was sent to New York to escape the paparazzi. People seemed to think that theory also could've explained her mysteriousness and her looks.

Annabeth secretly wondered if Athena enjoyed _that_ rumor. Her mother was, after all, a beautiful goddess…except, perhaps, when she donned her battle armor. Then, she was more frightful than anything else.

The only rumor the daughter of Athena could confirm was that she'd refused any boy who asked her out. There had been plenty of boys that did; some did it for fun because they knew her answer would be no and others did it because they genuinely believed themselves to be in love and wanted her as their girlfriend. No one, least of all the boys, could understand why Annabeth would turn down every single offer. A few of the girls often looked at her as if she was the strangest student to grace the hallways of the school. After all, who could turn down so many boys in such rapid succession? Of course, none of them knew Annabeth rejected them all for a certain son of Poseidon and, if Annabeth had her way, they'd have never known.

Inevitably, the student body found it. It was no fault of Annabeth's that they learned about a certain Percy Jackson. The Seaweed Brain himself showed up at her school and gave it all away. Annabeth had nothing against her boyfriend showing up at her school (she'd seen countless other boyfriends and girlfriends do the same) but she didn't really want to have her relationship publicly announced. She wasn't ashamed of it, but she didn't see the need for everyone to know. She'd heard of supposed "it" couples from her friends, pairs of students were scrutinized and whose every action fueled some sort of gossip or other. She had no desire to end up as one of them, should the student body see her (incredibly wonderful and handsome) boyfriend. So, she'd made plans to keep her relationship hidden. And hidden it would've stayed…if a certain son of Poseidon hadn't bothered driving up to her school in a blue Prius that seemed to stand out. By the time Annabeth got out of the building, there was already a crowd forming around the car.

The school was used to many visitors on the last day of the term, so Annabeth didn't understand why all the students saw the need to huddle around a car, but upon inspecting the two people standing outside it, Annabeth understood. With his hair in somewhat of a disarray and his blinding smile, Percy looked handsome. Beside him, Piper (who Annabeth was somewhat surprised to see) looked no less like her mother than a daughter of Aphrodite should. Suddenly, the gawking seemed understandable. Smiling to herself, the daughter of Athena pushed her way through the crowd and towards the pair.

Percy's grin widened impossibly the instant he spotted Annabeth and she couldn't help grinning back.

"Surprise!" Piper laughed, smiling at Annabeth. "We know you hate surprises and being spontaneous, but we kind of spontaneously planned a trip before heading to camp."

Annabeth laughed. She hated being spontaneous and doing things without a plan, but perhaps being spontaneous wasn't all _that_ bad.

"Could you have made a more dramatic entrance, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth wondered, bemusedly.

Percy grinned, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer.

"I could've burst into your school and proclaimed my undying love for you, if you prefer that."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You've already done that."

"Yeah, in Tartarus, in front of a bunch of monsters. I doubt that counts."

"I think it does," she admitted, leaning up to kiss him. There were audible gasps from the crowd assembled and Annabeth rolled her eyes again. Some of the boys erupted in whistles and some of the girls just stared. Quite of few students glared at the pair, but neither of the three demigods paid them much attention. Annabeth thought she heard someone say "nice catch" and suppressed a laugh.

"Don't you all have something better to do?" She wondered, glaring at them. There seemed to be a mad dash as most of the crowd dispersed. A few lingered in the area, but Annabeth pointedly ignored them.

"So, where are we going?" She wondered.

"Montauk," Piper said gleefully, before Percy could explain. "The others are already there."

Annabeth took "the others" to mean Jason, Leo, Frank, and Hazel.

"My mom said we could use the place for a couple of days before heading to camp," Percy admitted, smiling. "I figured it'd beat going back to Camp right away and training. Besides, after getting out of Tartarus and the war alive, I think we deserve a break, even if it's short."

Annabeth nodded. "But won't seven demigods in one place be dangerous? We might destroy the entire place if monsters attack us."

"We might," Percy admitted. "But it's worth the risk."

He had a point, Annabeth admitted. Since coming out of Tartarus alive, she and Percy had been virtually inseparable and they'd formed a strong bond with the other demigods of the prophecy. If they could all kick back for once and relax and just hang out together (even if it wasn't for very long) it was worth fighting a couple of monsters for.

"Besides," Piper said. "We've taken down some pretty tough monsters. What's a hellhound or manticore here or there?"

"Point taken," Annabeth replied. "So, what are we waiting for?"

Piper laughed and ducked into the back seat of the car. Percy tarried a moment, pausing long enough to wrap Annabeth in another hug and plant a kiss on her lips.

"Missed you, Wise Girl," He said, smiling.

"Me too," she replied. "But we'll have all summer together, won't we?"

He nodded. "We better. The gods owe us."

Thunder rumbled up above and Annabeth chuckled. Seaweed Brain, she thought, smiling to herself.

If either of the demigods had been paying attention, they'd have noticed a particularly sad looking student lingering in the shadows, watching with disappointment as the daughter of Athena got into the car. But Percy and Annabeth were far too engrossed in each other and whatever funny comment Piper was making from the backseat to notice said student tossing a small bouquet of flowers into a nearby dumpster. The Prius pulled away even as the first of the petals pulled away and began to drift in the breeze.

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_Thanks for reading!_

_- Taryn_


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